New research shows that development aid from the world's main donor countries to poorer nations increased by 6.5 percent last year, but the growth will probably slow down this year.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said members of its development assistance committee provided a total of $129 billion in official development assistance last year. The United States, Britain, France, Germany and Japan were the largest overall donors, but smaller countries gave more as a percentage of their gross national income.

The OECD report said official development aid from the United States amounted to $30.2 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent from 2009.

Aid to sub-Saharan Africa from OECD countries increased by 6.4 percent to $26.5 billion for 2010.

The OECD figures cover nearly all bilateral aid except military assistance - including grants and loans for new and existing development projects, grants for debt relief and humanitarian aid.